Haven't read the whole thread, but heard the news on the radio and thought I'd come on here and see if it was being talked about. I'm glad she was believed and he was found guilty. Thought it wa despicable that jlc chose to show no remorse and instead called her a compulsive liar and an alcoholic. What a bastard.
I also thought the "out if character" thing was way off. One isolated incident could be deemed "out of character", not a sustained campaign of abuse. If the judge meant his behaviour was unexpected in light of his cuddly nice guy persona, well, that's abusers for you. Mine was a "nice guy" apparently, but no one knew what he was like behind closed doors.
I'm just so glad she was believed, when I read about what he did, it was such a classic insecure abusive bastard profile of behaviour that I believed her immediately. The sentence arguably maybe light, but no doubt his career is in tatters, and IMO his conviction sends out the message that if you abuse people, you will suffer serious consequences.
I wonder if a conviction would stick if it weren't for the recorded evidence? Not everyone is lucky enough to have this proof, many abusers are very clever about who they do it in front of, and often it is the victim's word against their's. 